January 31, 2012

My father in law was a photographer. He spent years trying to perfect color in his photographs. It was a painstaking effort. He had to paint the prints by hand. And these photos tell of a Europe almost completely gone.

Color Autochromes — an early form of color photography — taken during WWI, from the collection of Albert Kahn. It is an amazing real-life look into the world that Downton Abbey so elegantly recreated for Masterpiece Theatre. Sidenote: I am completely obsessed with the show. Are you?

Kahn was a French banker and philanthropist who attempted to collect a photographic record of the entire world between 1909 and 1931. Amassing over 72,000 Autochromes, Kahn’s collection included historical records of 50 countries and was little-seen until recently. Kahn’s archive formed the basis of a recent BBC miniseries and accompanying book, The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn: Colour Photographs from a Lost Age. Find out more here.

**Update: Just found a place online where you can watch a bit of the documentary. Find part 1 here and part 2 here, courtesy of Ovation. Enjoy!